In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Hard Boiled (1992)

Before John Woo went to Hollywood to knock out crap uninspired action films, he made quality like Hard Boiled in his native China.
Chow plays a Dirty Harry style cop with a personal mission and a personal demon to exorcise. Even when he's left holding the baby, he kicks ass.
The Woo motifs are all present: extremely stylish dual-wielding slow motion pistol fights, exploding shotgun shells, a dozen near misses in one shoot-out, subtle dualities in plot and character, and doves (in an unusual way this time). It's one of the defining films of the genre.

4 more squibs and bloodpacks out of 5

2 comments:

Impudent Urinal said...

Wish I had kept it for myself instead of buying it as a gift for a friend.
4 ziplines and automatic weapons out of 5

Dr Faustus said...

I'd forgotten I Nutted this. I'm playing through the "sequel" game again. First PS3 game I ever bought, all those moons ago. Going to rub my nuts on it for the Nut Load when I'm done.